ZAGREB, January 29, 2018 – According to the Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI), which is a comparison of European health care systems, in a 2017 survey ranking 35 European countries, Croatia’s health care system ranked 26th, seven places down compared to 2016.
EHCI analyses the health care systems in 35 countries through 45 indicators covering patient rights, how informed they are, access to health care and medication, the outcome of treatment and so on.
The report notes that despite the lower contributions for health care per capita, Croatia’s health system applies advanced and expensive treatment such as kidney transplants. Croatia conducts 45 transplants per one million inhabitants and is the European leader in transplants. However, last year a drastic drop was evident in the country’s health care, above all regarding access to health services and the outcome of treatment.
According to the EHCI report, in 2017 waiting lists were extended, which means that it is more difficult for Croatian patients to be seen by hospital specialists, to undergo operations or CT tests. The report further notes that Croatia continues to record a high mortality rate of patients with cancer, cardiovascular diseases and haemorrhages and that the results in the prevention of high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol abuse are insufficient. It is more difficult for patients in Croatia to access new medicines for cancer, arthritis and for lowering cholesterol blood levels, the report notes.
The Netherlands once again ranked 1st in the survey with a score of 924 of a possible 1000 points, followed by Switzerland (898 points), which brings the two countries very close to fully meeting EHCI criteria.
Croatia scored 620 points, a decrease of 83 points on the year, remaining among countries at the bottom of the total ranking. Some of the countries in the region fared better than Croatia, with Slovenia scoring 726 points, Serbia 673 and Montenegro 623.
